Staten Island's Wisconsin connection: Kettle ponds

Advance file photoLong Pond Park's history stretches back for thousands of years, beginning with the Wisconsin Ice Sheet. Learn about it Dec. 5 on a short hike.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Surely, Staten Islanders who frequent the borough’s scores of Italian restaurants can bond with Wisconsinites over cheese. America’s Dairyland is, no doubt, still the nation’s leader in cheese production. But what about the other connection the two regions share?

We’re talking about kettle ponds. Kettle what?

Created by the Wisconsin glacier 50,000 years ago, kettle ponds are common on Staten Island. Kettle ponds were created out of former buried chunks of ice that melted and formed pools when the glacier — which covered most of Canada, the Midwest and the Northeast — receded. These ponds are wetlands that are home to many species of animals and plants.

The city Parks Department’s Urban Park Rangers lead a free, half-mile hike to Long Pond Park’s kettle ponds Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. They’ll discuss the formation of the ponds and teach hikers to identify wildlife they might encounter along the way. Meet at Page and Adelphi avenues in Tottenville.